TPWBI Chapter 87

Late at night, Yang Yi didn’t want to fuss any further. Thinking that it was just two men, nothing to be self-conscious about, he simply shared the same bed with Hei Lie.

The bed wasn’t very big. With two men lying on it, some accidental bumps were inevitable.

Yang Yi could clearly feel the warmth radiating from the person beside him. Though there was no fireplace in the room, it no longer felt so cold.

He had thought that with the change of bed, plus such a terrifying incident just happening, he would find it hard to sleep. Unexpectedly, when he closed his eyes and opened them again, it was already the next day.

The space beside him was already empty. Hei Lie’s blanket had been folded neatly at the side. When Yang Yi touched the bedding, it was long cooled.

Hei Lie got up before dawn every day to train. The tribe’s combat strength was steadily growing. Hei Lie’s own ever-increasing power was inseparable from his relentless training.

“Awake?”

Hei Lie walked in through the doorway. His bare upper body was covered in a sheen of sweat, making his solid, muscular frame seem even more explosive.

Eight-pack abs were common here, yet Hei Lie’s physique was still outstanding. He wasn’t the tallest or the burliest, but he could still look down on everyone else.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and most importantly, sheer explosive strength. Every inch of muscle concealed tremendous power, making it hard to look away.

Yang Yi couldn’t help glancing a few more times. Even though he saw him every day, the man’s body was still irresistibly striking.

“I thought you went to train.”

“Even without me there, they won’t slack off, especially after what happened last night.” Hei Lie grabbed a towel and wiped away the fine sweat on his body.

He hadn’t gone to the training grounds, only worked out in the open space outside the room.

On this floor, only Yang Yi and Hei Lie lived. The space was very large. Right outside their rooms was a wide open area.

Since there was a dedicated study and reception room, this place only held a few decorations and not much else, leaving plenty of space for boxing and other exercises.

The news that someone had tried to abduct Yang Yi spread through the entire Spark Tribe without any need for deliberate announcement.

This made everyone furious and also made them aware of the covetous intentions other tribes held toward them.

On top of that, there had also been an attempt to raid the manufacturing district, which only deepened everyone’s sense of crisis.

Life had gotten better, especially since they had started farming and breeding livestock, with clear divisions of labor. Because of this, the tribe’s hunting and gathering activities had decreased significantly, and only a portion of people were still suited for them.

And now that the tribe had grown powerful, possessing iron weapons that completely outclassed all others, seeing how far behind the other tribes were gave them confidence, yet also inevitably bred some arrogance.

This easily led to a subtle slackening of vigilance. Compared to before, their alertness had weakened somewhat.

In particular, those who had joined in the earliest days, the longer they lived in comfort, the more their vigilance dulled, with their minds filled more with thoughts of how to make life better.

Especially some of the less capable fighters, who felt that as long as they did their assigned work, that was enough.

Now, after a series of incidents, many people had sobered up and were more proactive in improving their combat strength.

“How’s the manufacturing area?”

Yang Yi climbed out of bed, slipped on the coat Hei Lie handed him, and walked toward the wash area as he asked.

“They’ve already rounded up all those attackers. That group won’t be able to stir up any real trouble. The beastfolk played a huge role in this battle.” Hei Lie briefly described the situation from yesterday. “But—”

“Because there was an insider, it still led to some casualties and losses of goods.”

Yang Yi froze, spat out the water in his mouth, and asked, “What about the casualties?”

“Three people died, including Hui, who was in charge of the pottery workshop.”

“What?!” Yang Yi was utterly shocked, unable to accept the news for a moment.

Hui was an elder of the tribe. He was a deeply responsible man. The pottery workshop, being able to produce black pottery, owed much to his efforts.

His pottery skills were extremely refined. Most of the skilled workers in the workshop now were trained by him.

Not long ago, Yang Yi had even gone to see Hui, chatting with him about firing porcelain. He never imagined the man would now be gone.

Even though Yang Yi was long accustomed to people frequently disappearing from the tribe, hearing that someone he had known the longest and interacted with often had died was unbearable. He was grief-stricken and furious.

“How could this happen? Weren’t plenty of people already sent to protect them? How could Hui still end up dead?”

“Hui’s assistant, Qiang, betrayed the tribe. He held Hui hostage, trying to force everyone to give in.” Hei Lie’s expression was also grim. “Hui didn’t want to let him succeed and fought back directly, but he couldn’t win. He was stabbed to death.”

Hui was the core of the pottery workshop. The insider knew this very well, so he targeted him directly.

No one had ever imagined Qiang would betray them. He had always seemed so simple and honest, diligently doing the heavy labor in the pottery workshop, helping out wherever needed.

Hui and Qiang had a good relationship. Hui had always regretted that Qiang didn’t have the talent for pottery. Otherwise, he would have taught him personally.

Although Qiang couldn’t participate in making pottery, in daily life, Hui had taken great care of him.

That was why everyone had felt reassured, entrusting Hui’s safety to Qiang. Who could have guessed he would turn out to be one of the insiders.

“How could it be Qiang?” Yang Yi voiced the same doubt, finding it hard to believe.

“Greed,” Hei Lie’s eyes darkened. “What the tribe provided wasn’t enough to satisfy him. Black pottery could be traded for many things. Someone stirred him up, and he chose betrayal.”

Yang Yi fell silent. Life in the tribe was already considered abundant compared to many others.

But for some people, it was never enough. In the face of temptation, they easily abandoned their principles.

Qiang wasn’t the first, and he wouldn’t be the last.

“Were there no signs beforehand?” Yang Yi frowned slightly. He had rarely interacted with Qiang, so he didn’t really know his state of mind.

But the chance of someone suddenly betraying was usually quite low, especially since the Spark Tribe’s treatment wasn’t bad. For many, it was like living in a dream.

And betrayal here was an extremely serious word. Although there weren’t many moral restraints in this world, one’s tribe was the foundation of their safety. New tribes weren’t easy to blend into, so people wouldn’t make such a choice lightly.

Qiang wasn’t a warrior. He had awakened a strength ability, but even now it wasn’t exaggerated, just a bit stronger than ordinary people.

His mind wasn’t sharp, nor were his hands skillful, so he could only handle manual labor.

There were countless people like this on the Eastern Continent, and most were easily satisfied. Unless planted as spies from the start, it was hard for such people to betray.

Qiang wasn’t someone full of schemes. His discontent should have been easy to notice.

Hei Lie sighed lightly. “I think Hui also sensed it. But emotions blinded his eyes. So perhaps his final actions carried a meaning of atonement.”

“This is going to be a tremendous loss for the pottery workshop,” Yang Yi said with deep regret.

Although Hui was older and sometimes stubborn, whether in skill or management, he was extremely outstanding.

“We’ll find the right person. He faced death head-on, perhaps because he already understood this.”

Yang Yi knew Hui well, and he also knew this was very likely true. Yet his heart still felt unbearably heavy.

To have someone familiar die so tragically. No matter how many times one experienced it, the cruelty was something hard to adapt to.

“And the other two?”

“They were guards, responsible for protecting the tribe’s property. They died in the line of duty, preventing those people from destroying everything.”

In pure combat strength, that group could not compare with the Spark Tribe.

But they were shameless and frenzied, deliberately creating chaos in the manufacturing workshop, trying to smash tools and machines.

The Spark Tribe members knew very well how precious those things were, especially the machines for smelting ore. They were unique. Even Yang Yi had only one.

If they were smashed, there would be nothing left, and they had no way to make new ones.

Because of this, the Spark Tribe members hesitated, fell into a passive position, and casualties followed.

“These people are counting on me to bring everything,” Yang Yi snorted coldly. “Have the masterminds been caught?”

“All of them have been captured, including the Western Continent caravan behind them,” Hei Lie’s eyes flashed with ruthless intent. “I’ll make them understand just how painful it is to offend our Spark Tribe.”

Yang Yi frowned. “As expected, it’s them again.”

“Only Western Continent people could come up with so many despicable tricks!”

Yang Yi also disliked them deeply. Although they could bring many things, their scheming was excessive, and their reach far too long.

There were many conflicts among the Eastern Continent tribes as well. The Blackstone Tribe was by no means gentle—but in comparison, Yang Yi found the Western Continent people even more repulsive.

They were like dung-stirrers, fanning the flames everywhere, endlessly irritating.

Yet they couldn’t simply be cut off. The dangers of “closing the country’s doors” were something Yang Yi had learned very clearly from modern history.

At least in this trade fair, they had brought many valuable goods, well worth exchanging for.

Not only En’s caravan, but other caravans as well, had brought various domesticated animals.

This was of great help in enriching the tribe’s ranches.

Though people still brought fry for trading, there were also many kinds of seafood and rare delicacies that Yang Yi had never seen before.

The Western Continent, through constant roaming and exchanges, had also gathered many cheap yet excellent foods. After trade, these could help the Spark Tribe ease the food crisis brought on by its surging population.

There were also groups who had brought all kinds of metal ores with very high purity.

“In the future, such incidents will surely happen again. We must raise our vigilance. Perhaps even establish a dedicated security bureau.”

Hei Lie nodded. “I already sensed their ambition before, but they’re far more formidable than I imagined.”

Just then, a knock sounded on the door.

“Divine Envoy, Chieftain, En of the Western Continent caravan requests an audience.”

Yang Yi and Hei Lie exchanged a look.

Yang Yi said, “For that fellow to suddenly visit, it’s hardly just to reminisce.”

The Western Continent caravan had only just been caught, and En had come right away. The timing was far too coincidental.

“Let him in and we’ll see what’s what.”

Hei Lie had the guards take En down to the meeting room downstairs, not allowing him up to visit.

They entered the meeting room. Before En could exchange greetings, Hei Lie cut straight to the point:

“If you’re here to plead for those who wanted to harm our tribe, unless you intend to destroy the friendship between us, I advise you not to do that.”

“Hei Lie, my friend, you are always so cold and heartless.” Qiao clutched his chest and put on a sorrowful look.

Yang Yi’s tone was equally icy: “When we first met I already told you what kind of tribe we are. Friends are welcomed and treated well. Enemies who come here will be met only by our cold iron.”

Qiao now understood that playing the family card was impossible. He glanced at En and didn’t try to cozy up any further.

En smoothed his clothes and spoke seriously:

“The caravan you captured is backed by the lord of a large city on the Western Continent. One of the men is the lord’s nephew. The lord values his nephew highly and values his caravan even more. I think that rather than executing them outright, you could use them to trade for far more goods.”

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